Establishment During the
Spanish transition to democracy, the
National Confederation of Labour (; CNT), a
revolutionary anarcho-syndicalist trade union, was restructured and returned to workplace organising in Spain. By the end of the 1970s, deep generational, ideological and tactical divides had caused the CNT to fragment. At the CNT's 5th Congress, held in
Madrid in December 1979, the debate over participation in provoked a split. When the congress resolved to prohibit electoral participation, supporters of participation accused the organisers of blocking them from speaking on the matter and 53 unions abandoned the meeting. The unions that supported electoral participation represented 8,000 members, roughly one-third of the CNT's remaining membership. Together they established a Technical Commission (; CTI), which launched a legal challenge to the outcome of the Madrid Congress. From 25 to 27 July 1980, the CTI held an extraordinary congress in
Valencia, where delegates resolved to authorise participation in union elections. The orthodox faction of the CNT responded by expelling the dissident unions, which it denounced as "enemies of trade unionism". Members of the CTI were physically attacked and sent
death threats, prompting the dissident CNT faction to establish self-defense units. To distinguish itself from the "official" CNT, the CTI renamed itself to the CNT-Valencia Congress (; CNT-CV). By February 1981, the conflict had escalated into open violence, forcing the "official" CNT prohibited further violence, except in cases of self-defense. In 1983, the "official" CNT itself succombed to internal disputes over participation in union elections; the "renovators" (advocates of participation) were prevented from voting at its extraordinary congress, provoking general secretary
José Bondía to resign from the organisation. The renovators were subsequently invited to join the CNT-CV, which took place at a Unification Congress at Madrid's
Palacio de Congresos in 1984. The legal battle between the two factions continued throughout the 1980s, finally ending in 1989, when the
Supreme Court of Spain banned the dissident faction from using the name of the CNT. The pro-election faction of the CNT then reorganised itself into the General Confederation of Labour (; CGT). Its first act as the CGT was to join that year's
International Workers' Day celebrations, organised by other trade unions.
Workers' Solidarity (; SO) later split from the Madrid section of the CGT, opting to allow its members the choice of whether or not to participate in union elections. Throughout the 2000s, the CGT has established a series of syndicalist internationals, together with the
Central Organisation of Swedish Workers (SAC). These included: the
International Libertarian Solidarity (2001–2003); the (2003–2009); and finally the
Red and Black Coordination (2010–present). The
International Workers' Association (IWA), a rival anarcho-syndicalist international, has criticised the CGT's participation in
works councils as "
reformism", although the CGT insists it has merely adapted to new material conditions and considers itself to practice a
pragmatic form of syndicalism.
Growth The CGT counted 50,000 members during the 1990s; since then its membership has doubled. Following the
Great Recession, the major Spanish trade unions called
general strikes in
2010 and
2012, although they maintained an ambivalent position towards political and economic reform. In reaction to the
moderate position of the mainstream unions, many within the rising
anti-austerity movement moved towards anarcho-syndicalism, which led to a growth in the CGT's membership. In 2012, the CGT counted 4,805 representatives in
works councils (1.6% of all union representatives). In the 2015 union elections, its vote-share increased, leading to the election of 5,435 CGT representatives (2% of all union representatives). By 2020, it counted 100,000 members, which together accounted for 3.5% of all Spanish trade union members. This made the CGT the fourth-largest trade union in Spain, behind the
General Union of Workers (UGT),
Workers' Commissions (CCOO) and
Unión Sindical Obrera (USO). It is also the largest anarcho-syndicalist union in the country. The CGT has also increased its elected union delegates to more than 7,000 representatives; together representing millions of workers in various different industries. The CGT's unions are most powerful within the
automotive,
telecommunication and
transportation industries; it also has a significant presence in the
banking,
cleaning,
education,
healthcare and
public administration sectors. In April 2023, after three decades of internecine conflict, the CGT, CNT and SO came together to form a "united action pact", with the intention of defending public welfare, fighting for equality and opposing repression against the labour movement. ==Campaigns==